Reinstate garbage men, orders ERT

THE Employment Relations Tribunal (ERT) has ordered the Nasinu Town Council to reinstate 25 garbage collectors who were terminated from their job in December 2019.

They were dismissed after the council’s special administrators decided they were on a temporary contract.

All those who were terminated were members of the National Union of Municipal Workers and submitted to the ERT their termination of employment was unfair and unjust and that they should be reinstated without loss of benefits.

The 25 also submitted they should also be compensated for “humiliation and loss of dignity as a consequence of their termination”.

The ERT found the decision to terminate the garbage collectors was a breach of the Collective Agreement.

“The employer chose not to use other provisions provided for under the collective agreement such as layoffs or redundancy if they were seeking to reduce the workforce.

“However, the tribunal has deduced from their action above, that the terminations were to allow for new recruitments into the council rather than maintaining the current staffing.”

The tribunal ruled the town council unlawfully terminated the contracts on the grounds that they were temporary.

“All grievors are to be reinstated to their former positions.

“Reimbursement of four month’s wages lost as a result of the grievance and the remaining eight months to be regarded as leave without pay.”